Django Unchained - Pre-Release - Page 2

 

Could you tell me how many times the n-word is used? How about the homages? What kind of homages are there? How does Tarantino substitute his typical low angle Trunk Shot? Does he have the camera position inside an actual old fashioned trunk as someone opens it up? 

I'm hesitant to add to the question pile, but: Does this film have a score, or is it just a lot of Morricone needle drops?

 

I am going to see it one way or the other.  I just want to know if it's gonna be goofy and silly like Kill Bill and a lot of Basterds or something better like his earlier films.  I mean the reviews will be out in a week anyway and will reveal all this anyway, but you have the answers now.

 

How historically accurate is it? Does it have a big "kill Hitler" moment where they like blow Jefferson Davis' head off or something? Does the Gimp make a cameo appearance? How many scenes take place in bathrooms? 

Haha, poor Mike. I was just kidding with those questions, but thanks for answering some anyway.

If you could take a minute to whip up a storyboard in MS Paint of the entire film including as much exact dialogue as you can remember, that would be GREAT. Christmas is a long way away! By COB? Awesome.

I think the only real question is how many close-ups of bare feet are there?

Was there any nudity in the movie?  I'm asking because the script had quite a bit, but Tarantino always seems to shy away from it in his films.

Last question from me:  do you think QT gets another director nomination for this?

Are you sick of being asked all of these questions about Django Unchained yet, Mike?

 

Male pee pees?  

In all serious though, Mike, I do have a legitimate question I'd like to ask.

 

Not sure if you've read yet, but it's just been revealed today (by Quentin himself) that the final runtime of the film is 2 hours 45 minutes.  He said after he watched it with an audience (i.e. you) he knew exactly what he needed to cut, specifically saying by "noon the next day 15 minutes were gone."  He realised that certain scenes were a little boring and something wasn't as suspenseful as it should have been because he had fatigued everyone beforehand.

 

Considering you felt the first cut of 3 hours was certainly overlong, how do you feel about this and do think cutting out those 15 or so minutes will go a long way in improving the film? 

I saw the soundtrack listing.  Please tell me that the 'I've Got a Name' usage is awesome.

I think I know when that is played and I think it will be awesome.  It's my favourite track on the soundtrack.  I thought it weird the Johnny Cash song wasn't on there since it was used in the trailers and website etc.  Maybe it isn't in the film at all?

How is Kerry Washington?

How's Walton Goggins?

How are the extras?

 

Were they well fed? Did they get to eat enough?

What is Django Unchained? What's it about? Who is the cast and crew?

Racist? Or not so racist?

Gawd I want it now.

I'm so in the tank for QT, and I love all his movies. But I think this might be my least favorite of his. Beginning is incredible, ending is decent, but the middle portion just felt like ENDLESS and repetitive ugliness and brutality. Also, some of the humor goes from character-based to spoofy. I thought a lot of the jokes were not that clever as Tarantino is used to, but more dopey and obvious.

 

Do you mean the beginning as in the whole first act?  Up to where they meet Candie?

Yeah, once they get to Candie's place, it shifts gears. DiCaprio is actually SO good, so upsetting in his evil, that it just emphasizes the nastier elements of the movie. He's not one of those fun Tarantino villains - he's a real nasty shit, and Tarantino just gives the movie to him for a whole while. At first, it feels like an awful but awesome fuck-you to slavery and the plantation mindset (which can never get enough fuck-yous - the movie is awesome in this respect) but then it just gets more and more upsetting, eventually just too much. Samuel L. Jackson's sambo-type character kind of exacerbates things. But I don't know, maybe I'm just a softie.

Any thoughts on the cinematography?  

It looks great? I suppose?

 

Lots of reds and oranges. I never really focus on that sort of stuff unless it's REALLY eye-catching. And there's a lot of stuff going on in this film, so I didn't want to stop paying attention.

 

I'm really wondering how this will play to non Tarantino fans.

 

Is d'Artagnan in the movie? I haven't seen him listed in the cast yet.

Yes, he is, though I don't believe he has many lines beyond his... big scene. If he's the guy I'm thinking of.

 

Again, I feel like a simpleton, but there are just SO MANY CHARACTERS and it's SO VERY LONG. 

Oh, so it's like the Hobbit.

Well, no. It's actually kind of awesome at times. Like, REALLY awesome. Tarantino's still the boss. This just feels like a step down. From being the Boss.

Could it be just a bit more conventional than the usual Tarantino? It looks like it might be that, and I know how snooty you can be, Gabe. (winking emoticon face)

 

In truth, that could improve its oscar/box office chances, if we care about that. I guess we don't really.

I don't know how the general public will greet it. The first hour is pretty much ALL GOLD ALL THE TIME, so that probably helps. But it is an ANGRY movie. I expect a bunch of reactionary bullshit from all those "WHY IS THIS SO ANTI-WHITE??" ass-fucks. Racists look cheap, petty, ugly and fucking retarded in this, and they all get it REAL bad -- to the point where DiCaprio's Candie comes across as that much more scary and surprising.

 

There is a lot of dumb lowbrow humor in this, though. And the end scene, which I won't spoil, is borderline Mel Brooks in it's disregard for sense and craven need to be funny. On it's own that sort of humor can seem like a crowd-pleasing element, but it's more unusual when paired against the absolutely repulsive scenes of dogs tearing humans apart, or the no-holds-barred depiction of the "rules" of slavery (discussion of "nigger pits" filled with dead bodies is chilling because of how casual it is). 

 

The opening credits do have the honorable bit "With The Friendly Participation Of Franco Nero" though. You get a lot of leeway from me when you do something like that.

I don't know how one gauges this from a viewing, but I'm very curious how working with a new editor for the first time in Tarantino's career may have affected the outcome. Is there any way, I don't know, it feels cut or paced differently than his work with Menke?

Gabe, even  from those comments it's hard to believe you liked this less than something like Death Proof (although maybe you're a big of DP?).

 

Is it really that upsetting and graphic when dealing with the slavery institution elements?  Also, can you confirm if the Timmy (little stable boy) character is in the film?

I'm not sure which one Timmy is.

And yeah, I'm a BIG QT booster, and I loved Death Proof, which has that SUPERB action pacing in the last section. This one isn't paced all that tightly, if at all, and the action bits work in fits and starts (though, in fairness, this isn't really an action film -- for the most part, it's an out-and-out comedy). I don't know, I need to stew on it, but it didn't give me that "Fuck yeah" enthusiasm at the end I have for his other films.

 

Even though it's pretty draggy, you're going to need to see some scenes in this with a big crowd. I guarantee people will get rowdy.

You make it sound pretty polarizing, Gabe.  How was the overall reaction from the audience that you saw it with?

I thought I had a pretty reserved audience, but they slowly started getting rowdy, and exploded a few times.

 

If any of you care for a first act spoiler...

 

 

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

 

But then there were some upsetting violent moments, and people kept laughing little bit by bit, probably accustomed to laughing at the film as a whole. That was... upsetting?

 

There's also one really nasty Mandingo Fight between two big black guys a little after an hour in- you're guaranteed to get some walkouts there.

 

Weird to see so many faces in random places in this. The Jonah Hill bit is where he's riffing with a crowd, and it could have just been an extra. Amber Tamblyn is billed as someone's daughter (played by dad Russ!), but I don't remember seeing him, and she has zero lines. I read the credits and I recall thinking, Wait, he was in this? Where was she? I didn't know THAT guy was in this either!

My dad goes to the movies a lot, a whole lot, probably sees more flicks than I do in a year, and usually likes Tarantino, too. Not as a huge fan, but he knows the director's name, which is pretty big for him. And yet, he's never come across a single trailer or ad for this movie, whereas I've seen one in the theater at least a half dozen times; he didn't even know this existed until I mentioned it while visiting over Thanksgiving (and he cackled when I described what I knew about it).

 

He lives in South Carolina (now). I have no idea if there's a correlation.

 

We'll probably be seeing this together over Christmas. Gabe, you have me really looking forward to watching this with a South Carolina crowd. Assuming we can find it down there.

The concepts of Pre release and Post release are in violent collision in this thread. I feel like a lot of Gabe's posts consist entirely of unmarked spoilers. Spoiling cameos and the like is not cool. Spoiling moments and sequences not shown in the trailer is also baffling to me (someone gets torn apart by a dog? Thanks, I am glad that moment won't surprise me when it happens!).

If someone wants to start a post-release thread, have at it. But as far as "cameos," I've only mentioned stuff in the first act that's ENTIRELY inconsequential to the movie. If you're watching this and Jonah Hill shows up and you think, "Yes, this is a highlight of the movie!" you might be having an awful time, and/or just don't really like movies. No offense to Mr. Hill.

 

Ms. Tamblyn also shows up in the first ten minutes and vanishes.

And yes, report back during the holiday season! THIS I want to hear about.

How will Dr. Hartford be able to enjoy the film now that it's out there that Amber Tamblyn is in this?!* HOW?!

 

*speaking for myself, I have no idea who this is. So, yay I won't know who the mute background character is!